


True Love Occurs When You Stop Waiting For A Fairytale

by Esprit_de_corps



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, F/M, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Presumed Dead, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 02:52:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2796965
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Esprit_de_corps/pseuds/Esprit_de_corps
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He thinks she's dead – gone forever.<br/>How could Oliver Queen predict the sequence of events that would define the depth of his love for Felicity Smoak?</p>
            </blockquote>





	True Love Occurs When You Stop Waiting For A Fairytale

**Author's Note:**

> This was a short twitter fic posted for Cammien Ray.  
> It was written in 2 hours and very spur of the moment.  
> It's been years since I've written anything.  
> Comments are helpful and appreciated!

He thinks she's dead – gone forever.  


How could Oliver Queen predict the sequence of events that would define the depth of his love for Felicity Smoak?  


Six months was all they had to enjoy the true meaning of happiness. After months of struggling to find a way to be with the woman that he loved, Oliver finally realized he needed something for himself if he wanted to continue the never-ending battle to save Starling City. In his mind, he knew he didn't deserve her. He was a selfish man when it came to her. He freely admitted that. Yet when it came to her, he didn't care. He would be greedy, he would be selfish, if only to have this one piece of his life untainted by darkness.  


He was injured one night during a late patrol. She'd begged him not to go out after she left the foundry for the evening. True to his stubborn nature, he needed to burn off some excess energy and decided one last patrol would soothe him. After an unexpected run-in with a group of smugglers down by the docks, Oliver found his way to Felicity’s. He was battered and bruised, but nothing he hadn't endured any other day of the week. Only this time, he was so damn tired. God, he'd missed her. That was the first night he removed all of his shields, fell to his knees, and begged her to forgive him for pushing her away.  


Since that time, they had spent six glorious months filled with love, unimpeded by the outside world. No one knew. That time was theirs and theirs alone. They were the same in the presence of their friends. Oliver and Felicity. Felicity and Oliver. Although the change between them added the sexual intimacy of lovers, in retrospect, they already shared a closeness and intensity that resembled that of a married couple. Diggle could sense the shift, but never said a word.  


Their nights were filled with whispers of love & dreams too blissful to speak in more than hushed tones as they lay wrapped in each other’s arms. He had never been so vulnerable. So hopeful. So selfish to think that this life was meant for him with such a perfect love.  


By the time he received word of Slade's escape, there was a sickening voice he felt deep in his soul telling him he was already too late.  


***  


Felicity was leaving Starling General with a smile bright enough to blind even the sun. She thinks of all the pain and years of sadness Oliver's endured. Her eyes fill with tears as she anticipates the moment when he can record a happy story. And so she walks along on a cloud of joy, stopping for just a moment at a nearby park before her return to the lair. As she gazes at the faces of each child, her eyes drift to the one with eyes that are blue. A halo of blonde locks, shifting in the wind....there....he has his eyes....  


She takes off her heels and relishes in the feel of her feet on the plush lawn, closes her eyes, and lifts her head to the sky, and she whispers a silent thank you to the heavens for blessing her life in abundance. Before she can fully bring her head upright, she feels the heat from his breath close to her ear. She instinctively remembers his scent. It continues to haunt her dreams, it's an earthy stench that instantly makes her sick to her stomach. The words — his words — are few, but powerful.  


“Which one of these poor lads will have to die to get you to come with me quietly?”  


She can feel the curl of his lips in a sneer on her neck.  


She gazes at the little blonde haired, blue eyed boy, so full of life, and wraps her arms around her stomach to protect her own. "OK", she solemnly replies.  


As she leans down to slip her heels on, she knows this may be as close as she'll ever get to this dream.  


Slowly, Slade leads her to a nearby car, and she wonders how long he'll wait to exact his revenge. Minutes? Hours? Her thoughts are not of herself, her thoughts are on Oliver. Will he be the one to find her? After… Will this be the way he finds out? Would life continue to be so cruel to him by allowing him to find out how close he came to love and happiness, only to lose it, before it ever came to pass?  


Little does she know, Slade had other plans. Death would not be in her future. Breaking the bond of such a powerful union, was his plan.  


“I've spent the last year of my life locked away in a filthy cell just below the earth, in hell, with nothing but time to contemplate ways to bring Oliver Queen to his knees.” Slade's face is filled with loathing, yet Felicity notices a change from the rage highlighted during his mirakuru bout. She can’t help but see an underlying mix of resentment and sadness in his eyes.  


Slade lifts his head to look at her and his voice drops to a whisper, “What is it about that selfish boy that prompts such profound blind love and devotion from the remarkable women willing to sacrifice their lives for him?”  


Felicity’s first instinct is to defend Oliver and remind him what an amazing man he’s grown to be, but something in his eyes tells her that he was expecting it. So instead, she lowered her head for just a moment. When she raises it again, her eyes are filled tears. Her face softens as she speaks, “Not many of us are in control over whom we love. But my love for Oliver was a choice. I knew he wasn't as perfect as his looks would lead you to believe, but I also saw a man broken by the steep consequences of his past mistakes. Some people go their entire lives without ever having to face the consequences of their actions. But I can assure you, Mr. Wilson, Oliver is not one of those people.”  


For a moment she can see Slade considering her words, possibly reminiscing over a time when he and Oliver were friends. And in the next instant, a terrifying sneer graced his lips and distorted his face. “The problem, Miss Smoak, is that, like many others before you, you naively believe that your love is the exception to the rule. That you are the woman Oliver Queen loves beyond all reason, overcoming all of his selfish ways and reckless disregard for others. Yet, he traded your life for another when he turned you over to me, and you did so willingly. Blindly. With such utter devotion and blind faith, that your life become an afterthought. As I'm guessing it is even now. I’m here to highlight the error in said logic, Miss Smoak.”  


Felicity swallows a lump in her throat at the intensity of his words. Chewing her bottom lip, she pondered his words. “I know you won’t understand this, but I believe in Oliver and his mission to save this city. He’s not the man you think he is. I've seen his capacity to love and the selfless way he places the needs of this city before his own happiness. There’s nothing you can say or do that could make me doubt him. If that’s what this is all about, you’re wasting your time. Oliver and I share a bond that’s not likely to ever be broken.” She rises her chin in defiance and dares him to challenge the depth of her words.  


Slade smiles, a bright smile that’s fully of an unsettling glee. “Oh, I believe you, Miss Smoak. I’m under no illusion that I could shake your faith in ‘your Oliver’, but I think I know him a little better than you. That’s why I’m counting on him to prove just how naive you are to place such blind devotion in the hands of a boy that will forever be consumed by his own selfish needs.” His chuckle vibrates throughout the backseat of his chauffeured sedan. “Relax, young Felicity, I can promise that no harm shall come to you while we are together. You’ll be returned to your beloved after this is over. But I can’t promise that you’ll want to.”  


Days prior, Slade is enjoying his first few days of freedom. As he strolls through the streets of a nearby city close to Starling, his eyes fall upon a petite woman with blonde hair, weaving her way through the crowds on what appears to be a shopping excursion. Could it be? Just as he thinks fate has finally dealt him an unexpected windfall, he examines her from a distance. If he didn't know any better, he'd think it was her. Same blonde hair only… it could be her exact double. This woman was bathed in wealth from head to toe. No, this was not Miss Smoak. This woman was free of glasses, her posture ridged, and dressed in fur, while decadent jewelry adorned her hands, neck, and ears. No, Slade knew the look of wealth and privilege. She certainly was a polar opposite of Miss Smoak with her understated beauty and natural carefree demeanor. But she would do.

***

Oliver is frantic. Slade has escaped and he can't reach her. She's not at the office, according to Jerry. She left early for the day for an appointment, but hasn't returned. He tries her phone again. “Hey, this is Felicity, sorry I've missed your call, well it’s not like you’re not important, so if I've missed you, there has to be a good reason, because everyone’s call should be important, after all, no one wants to feel like they’re not a priority or easily brushed off and sent to voice-mail, right? Ok, where was I? Oh yeah, let me a message after —"  


Beep!  


Where is she? He begins to pace throughout the expanse of the lair. Felicity is not the type of woman to stray too far from her phone. He’s been calling and texting her for the past 4 hours.  


He gathers everyone in the lair and updates them on the situation. Diggle immediately attempts to track her phone. How the hell do they locate Felicity without, Felicity? He immediately pulls up her tracking program she installed to track all members of the team in case of emergencies. God bless Felicity for having the forethought to anticipate the danger each team member faces at any given time in their line of work.  


Digg chances a glance at Oliver while the program is working in the background to track the location of her cell phone. Oliver’s on edge, his pacing as become erratic and when did he change into his Arrow gear? Just as Digg is about to comment on it, a loud ping can be heard from her workstation. John Diggle is a man of few words and it takes a lot to rattle him, so when Oliver hears a tremble and urgency in the man’s voice, he’s at his side instantly.  


“Oliver, what the hell is going on? According to this, her last tower ping ends at Starling River? Why would Felicity be near the Starling River this late?”  


Just then, an anguished gasp of pain erupts from the other side of the workstation from Roy — who's frozen in place, in what can only be described as suspended disbelief —instantly paling over a report scrolling across the news feed as the reporter announces, “A woman has been retrieved from the banks of Starling City River. The woman, who was only moments ago, identified as 27 year old Felicity Smoak, was found by a couple jogging along the banks earlier. Although details are unclear, her wallet and the contents of her purse have all been found, along with her cell phone. According to police, this seems to rule out robbery as a motive"  


Silence befalls the lair.  


And then his world goes black.  


When he finally opens his eyes, the look of devastation still present on Digg & Roy’s faces tell him it wasn't a nightmare. Felicity is gone, but this was his Felicity, he had to see for himself. Just then, Oliver’s phone vibrates in his pocket, and her face flickers across her screen. “FELICITY, oh, thank God, where are you? It’s all over—”  


“Oliver, this is Quentin Lance. You need to get down here to the station.”  


He’s known Quentin for many years, but he’d never quite heard the man sound as broken as he did in that moment. “Tell, me. Please? Tell me it’s not her?”  


Quentin inhales deeply and releases a deep sigh. Blinking back tears. “I’m so sorry, kid, but it’s her. They brought in her phone so that we could take a look at her call log. Her last call was to you. You’re listed as her emergency contact, so we need you to come down and make the official identification.”  


Oliver’s head began to spin again as he looked around the lair to see every eye of the team hanging on to his every word. He had to be strong. He could do this. He can’t worry about himself right now. With a steely resolve, Oliver states, “I’ll be right there.”  


Quentin exhales, “I have to call her mother. It says here that she lives in Vegas, is that right?”  


“Yes,” Oliver says, "but why don’t you let me do it. She deserves to hear it from me.” After the call ends, Oliver thinks to himself, no way in hell will he call Donna Smoak and tell her that her only child is gone without being damn well certain of its truth. Just as he’s conveying the same to Diggle and Roy and filled them in on the details of his conversation with Lance, heels on the steps of the lair draw his attention.  


Oliver’s heart begins to race, filled with hope, he races over to see the face of his girl as she makes her way back into his arms and ends this nightmare. Fate, being a cruel bitch, decides against that. Instead, he sees… Helena.  


Defeat is visible in his eyes, Diggle muses. For some reason, they all hoped it was her. “Why the fuck is she here?” Diggle directs toward Oliver, enraged by her presence.  


Roy stands by his side, while he’s never met Helena, he’s heard the stories and immediately assesses the threat.  


Helena, seemingly genuine in her efforts to reassure the residents of the lair that she’s no threat, holds both hands up in a friendly gesture, as she replies, “I saw the report on the news, Oliver. I know that a lot has happened between us, but you've always been a good friend to me and I knew you needed a friend right now in return.”  


Oliver brushes past her without a word, essentially cutting her off. He doesn't have time for this, not today, not right now. With heavy determined steps he ascends the stairs, stops and turns to nod for Diggle and Roy to follow. Team Arrow gathers their strength and head to the morgue, each praying that this is all a mistake and that this isn't a moment that could mark the confirmation of the loss of one of their own.  


When they arrive, Ray Palmer is walking out of the morgue. Oliver fights the bitter urge to lash out at the man. Why is he here? He’s not her family. He barely knows her. Oliver swallows his contempt for the man and berates himself for not remaining focused on Felicity.  


Ray’s bloodshot eyes are a clear indication that fate would once again, not be on their side. He looks at Oliver and confirms with a look of devastation, that it's her.  


Oliver shakes his head back and forth, and erupts. “No! I don’t know why you’re here, but you haven’t known her long enough to make this call. She’s not gone until the people that love her most, look upon her body, feel the loss, and know without a doubt that she will never open her eyes again. So you can leave, now.”  


Ray, unable to muster the energy to defend himself against Oliver’s words, straightens his shoulders, and replies, “They found her employee badge among her personal effects and called the company. No one asked me to come. I came because she was my friend.” With that, Ray Palmer walks away. His last thoughts are of living in a world that lacks the shining light that was Felicity Smoak.  


As Oliver walks into the room, his body trembles with fear at an intensity he’s never truly experienced since his early days on the island. Slowly, he approaches the table, gazes upon her blue lips, damp skin and hair, only to hear voices in his head whisper to him, "It's not her.” He looks down upon her and searches for any clue he can find. Her industrial piercing is visible and showcased by the arrow she found recently on their excursion to Central City. Oliver takes in every inch of her face. It looks so much like his Felicity. The eyes, he needs to see the eyes.  


Diggle walks up behind him, Roy close by his side. She's so beautiful. So… peaceful.  


Oliver pulls the sheet down more.  


Her throat has been cut with a very sharp blade. A desperate sob escapes Oliver’s lips, he can't look at her. This can’t be the way he remembers her.  


Oliver is startled by a hand that comes up on his shoulder. Roy gently guides him to a nearby chair as they all listen to the medical examiner. "DNA results will take weeks, but we've received enough credible confirmation, thus far, to indicate that this is her."  


Diggle gazes down at her, his eyes filling with tears as he places a soft kiss upon her head, this can't be happening. Not to her.  


As they gather a grief stricken Oliver and head back to the lair, the silence in the car is deafening. Each unable to process the events of the day. Although they each know that Slade will pay for this, none of them can seem to do anything more than mourn the loss of the woman that meant so much to each of them. When they reach the lair, Helena is still there.  


Diggle and Roy are enraged, they wanted to lash out. They wouldn't hesitate to end her life for the sheer intrusion upon this moment, but Oliver is broken. He needs their focus.  


Fueled by his grief, Oliver roars and rages, demanding they all leave, leave him to grieve, leave him to mourn, Diggle and Roy share a glance. Their thoughts are the same. They've never seen Oliver in such a state. Each worried what he’s capable of. What he’ll do to himself. How he’ll channel his grief. But they've resigned themselves to give him a bit of space for the moment.  


Oliver locks himself in the lair for the next week. He only emerges when Diggle texts him the details of her funeral afternoon.

***

Felicity is heartbroken to see Oliver and her friends have to go through this, Slade's promised that she could go home soon. She’s not sure why he's allowed her CCTV access to the lair’s security feed since her captivity. All she can think is that it’s another way for him to inflect the same psychologically manipulative tactics that he’s deployed nonstop over the past week. He's kept her remarkable well provided for, yet she has no idea why. He seems unaware of her pregnancy and she’s made it her mission to prevent revealing it to anyone before Oliver. She hopes she can do that much for him. But if she finds the baby at risk, she’d reveal it to save her child.  


Digg, it seems, spared no expense for her funeral. Her body arrived in a horse drawn carriage in shades of white and gold fit for a queen. Donna Smoak is inconsolable. Although Diggle allows for quiet moments to mourn his friend, he knows that Felicity would want him to be there for Oliver and Donna, both of whom would be hit the hardest by her death. It seems that thought is what steels him for the day ahead.  


***  


As Quentin Lance, Ray Palmer, Roy, and finally John Diggle, give her eulogy, all Oliver can do is sit there -- stoic — completely shut down. The voice in his head whispering once again, "No. No, this is all wrong. What am I missing? "  


Days later, he's still barely functioning. He's on auto-pilot, barely alive, a mere shell of the man who only weeks ago dreamed.  


He's accepted Helena's temporary presence on the team with a vague indifference. He doesn't care. He can’t muster the strength to respond. Diggle and Roy’s contempt for her only grows with Oliver’s acceptance of her presence. The lair grows more and more tense as a result. None of them can continue this way for much longer. Each growing more frustrated by the lack of leads on Slade Wilson.

***

Felicity’s heart breaks as she watches Oliver suffer. Slade's smile turns her blood cold as she asks once again, "When can I go home?"  


"Soon. Very soon, Love."

***  
It's been eighteen days since Felicity's presumed murder and the team still can't get a lead on Slade.  


One night, after patrolling, Oliver returns to the lair, tired, worn, beaten and bloodied. Helena is there to bandage him up after a brief battle that left his opponents far more broken than he was. So tired. Tonight is the night, he thinks. Helena's standing close and a familiar scent assaults his senses. It's her perfume. He'd recognize it anywhere. It's the reason he hasn't been back to her apartment since that night. But it's her and he wants to buy himself in the memories.  


For one moment, he just wants to forget. He misses her so much that the pain in his heart seems to have manifested its self into an acute physical agony. He closes his eyes, pulls her close, and kisses Helena with an intensity of a man dying. He never once opens his eyes – not as he lifts her over to the mats, not as he desperately removes their clothing. Not once does he allow himself to betray the image of Felicity in his mind by looking at the woman, naked and willing, beneath him on the floor.

***

Felicity watches as Helena brushes softly against his skin while bandaging him up. Felicity closes her eyes as Oliver lifts his hand to kiss Helena. Tears stream down her face as she stands and turns her back, away from the images on the monitor. She can't watch this.  


Slade startles her as he walks into the room, clapping.  


"Well, Love, looks like it's time for you to go home."  


"Why now? Is this what you wanted me to see? Did you do this?" She's devastated. Did she mean so little to Oliver? How could he?  


"I needed you to see that your loyalty to this man is one-sided. It’s convenient when you’re standing in his presence as a reminder, but once you were removed and another was available? He replaced you in an instant. You're no more than one more warm body, replaceable by the next."  


Her world had crumbled in a matter of days. It was real. They were real. She saw how broken Oliver was, but she just wanted to go home. She just wanted to curl up in her bed and go back to the morning of her abduction when Oliver woke her with soft kisses and whispered words of love as they made love. She knows in her heart that they were different, yet...why would he do this?  


How could he move on so easily? Was she that forgettable? Was she no more than a casual love, easily replaced by another?  


Although Felicity’s captivity lasted three weeks, her return, ironically, took a mere hour. As she slowly walked down the steps to the lair, her heart pounds in her chest with each step. As she finally lands at the bottom, she hears Helena's pleas to Oliver to stay with her, love her, and finally be with her. As Felicity rounded the corner, her eyes land on Oliver. Thankfully his pants were on & his back was turned away from her as he put his shirt on.  


As Oliver turns around to reject Helena, he sees her. He sees Felicity, standing only a few feet away, he thinks he's being punished for his momentary weakness by her ghost. Helena, still half-dressed and sitting on the mats, follows his gaze to land straight on Felicity.  


"Felicity," Helena whispers with wide eyes. Slade promised he’d kill her. She needed more time. They had finally reconnected. He made love to her like they had never been apart, it was even more intense than she remembered, if that were possible.  


Oliver’s eyes snap back to Felicity once he realizes Helena sees her too.  


Meanwhile, Felicity stares at him, shock and hurt written all over her face.  


He speaks her name out loud, it comes out as something between a question and a prayer. Oliver’s face breaks out into the brightest smile and he immediately gravitates toward her, but before he can take his first step, Slade appears behind Felicity, his sword drawn. Oliver seems frozen in place, and before he can reach her, Slade stabs her from behind penetrating her upper torso.  


"NOOOOOO!" screamed Oliver as he races to her. He catches her before her body falls to the ground.  


Slade looks down at Oliver, mocking him and leaves him with a final, “See ya around, kid.”  


Oliver clutches Felicity close to his chest as he reaches into his pocket for his phone. Slade uses the opportunity to slip away just as easily as he slipped in. And once again, vanishes into the night.

***

Felicity awakens to the smell of anesthetic. A hospital, she thinks.  


She tries to open her eyes, but they’re heavy, so heavy, they seem unwilling to obey.  


Eventually, her eyes slowly open, she's surrounded by monitors, and she can hear the distinct sound of two heartbeats echoing in the room. One heartbeat is strong and steady, the other is more of a constant rhythmic fluttering. As she peeks around the room, she's alone. She remembers what happened. Oliver. Helena. Slade! Her heart begins to race. At the sound of her monitors going off, Oliver rushes out of the bathroom to check on her, while Dig and Roy rush into the room with coffee cups.  


"Felicity, I need you to breathe and calm down," Oliver says as he reaches out to touch her & stroke her hair. She flinches away from him, panicked, Oliver grabs her hand and tries again to get her to focus.  


As her breathing slows, she's now vaguely aware of how close Oliver is as he hovers over her. She can’t help but wonder if Helena's here, too.  


Diggle approaches her bed and leans in to kiss her forehead. "Hey there, you can't ever do that to us again, we thought we lost you." He gives a small smile, one that Felicity knows is reserved just for her. "Both of you."  


Suddenly Felicity's eyes grow wide as she realizes she forgot about the baby. They know. He knows.  


She chances a glance at Oliver and she can now see pain, regret, and relief written all over his face, seemingly all at war with one another.  


Roy approaches her and hugs her, careful not to apply too much pressure to her injury. “You can’t ever do that to us again, Blondie.” He swallows to clear the intensity of his emotions and glances over at Oliver, then back to her. “We can’t do this without you.”  


Felicity tears up at just how much Roy has become every bit a member of her family in such a short time. “I’ll try to remember that.”  


She directs her eyes toward Oliver, who has remained remarkably silent throughout the exchange. So Roy and Diggle use that moment to excuse themselves to resume vigil outside her door. Guarding her as if she were crowned royalty. The silence in the room is broken by one word.  


Tears once again well up in her eyes. Why?"  


Oliver's face looks as if he were the victim of Slade's blade. He visibly flinches at her question. "I thought I'd lost you."  


“So that's a reason to move on to the first warm body willing?" She knows she's being cruel, knows how much her words hurt.  


“Do you love her?"  


"What?! NO! You have no idea how lost I was...you were gone. Forever, Felicity."  


She knows she's being unfair, but Slade knew how to play on her insecurities. She saw her family grieve for her. Suffer. But how could he? How can she look at him and not see him with Helena? She had to get out of there. She tries to rise out of the bed and disconnect herself from all of the wires holding her back.  


"What are you doing? Felicity, you can't leave."  


"I need to get out of here. I can't....I can't stay here."  


"Do you want me to leave? I'll leave, if you promise to stay. But, my God, Felicity, I’m begging you, please don’t leave. The baby…"  


Just then her doctor enters the room and can sense the tension as she tells Felicity she'd like to do an exam now that she's awake. Oliver steps out and stands in the hall with Roy & Digg, sensing she didn't want his presence in the room for the exam, but never takes his eyes off her door.  


"Oliver, what exactly happened in the lair tonight between you, Slade, Felicity, and Helena, and how do you plan to fix this?” Diggle demands. He may love Oliver like a brother, but Felicity and the baby need to come first right now. Even if that means he needs to smack Oliver around a bit in the meantime.  


"I don't know. But now that we've got her back, I'm not letting go. That's my family in there and I won't lose them again."  


After Felicity’s doctor leaves the room, she updates Oliver on Felicity and the baby’s prognosis. Although Felicity seemed to have lost a lot of blood during surgery, she seemed to be doing better. Everything with the baby appeared to be fine. She had been lucky enough to be early in her second trimester, which according to her doctor, may have aided the baby’s chances of survival. At four months pregnant now, Oliver could clearly see a tiny bump reflected as he glanced at her through her door.  


He thanked the doctor as she reminded him that Felicity needed to take it easy for the next month after such as ordeal. Oliver agreed to make sure she had everything she needed to heal and allow her body time to recoup. As he entered the room, Felicity seemed to be unable to control the emotions that seemed to overwhelm her when Oliver was near after being apart for so long. He immediately went to her and wrapped her in his arms.  


“This is all I wanted for weeks,” she sobbed, “and now I've never felt further away from you at time when I need you the most. I don’t know if I can get past this, Oliver.”  


Oliver leans back and takes her face in his hands, “I’m not going anywhere Felicity. I swear to God, I would've been happy to spend the rest of my life with you because it seems like I've never not loved you. But this is my fault. And I promise you, I’ll spend every day of my life making it up to you. It doesn't matter if it’s by your side or outside of your door. I’ll never give up on us.”  


Felicity’s released from the hospital a week later, and as promised, Oliver never once leaves her side. Not when Donna Smoak came all the way from Vegas to see her daughter. Not even when Diggle tried to get him to go home and get some rest. So Diggle did the next best thing, he brought Oliver clothes every day, arranged for a cot just for Oliver in Felicity’s room, sneaked in meals for them daily and supported his friends.  


While Felicity was in the hospital, Roy and Thea prepared her apartment for her arrival. Her place had been turned into an entertainment mecca for her extended period of convalescence. It seemed her tiny 32 inch TV screen had been replaced by the biggest full panel of TV sets she’d ever seen. Off to the side stood a new bookshelf filed with an array of movies and television series that she was sure remained currently on her DVR. Her lovely petite sofas had been replaced by an over-sized sectional that could seat 10 people comfortably, and actually looked rather plush and inviting. Flowers, balloons and get well cards could be seen all over.  


As she took in the sight of her friends — no, her family, once again — her eyes began to well. “Damn hormones,” she sniffled, looking back at Oliver.  


After enjoying a nice dinner, prepared by Oliver, and sitting around the tiny space enjoying the feel of having their group reunited once again, he looked over to Felicity and could see her eyes drooping. That was his queue to wish everyone a goodnight and get her to bed.  


As Felicity went to rise off of the sofa and make her way to bed, Oliver stopped her and swept her up in his arms. She couldn't help the flutter in her heart at the gesture. Gently wrapping her arms around his neck, she had never felt more loved. “Oliver, you can’t keep hovering, you realize you’re going to have to get back to the lair soon? You have a job to do. We’ll be fine. I know that I've held on to you and Helena and pushed you away, but I've never doubted your love for me. You have to know that. I still believe in what we do and I’ll never make you choose.”  


Oliver lays her down gently on the bed and sits beside her. He places a hand over the swell of her belly and takes a moment to consider his words. “Felicity, nothing is more important to me than you, our life, and our child. Losing you is not an option. These past few weeks, I walked around in a fog, numb to everything around me. The city no longer mattered. All that mattered is that I would have to spend the rest of my days waking up in a world in which you no longer existed. When Helena stood in front of me and I smelled your perfume, I had already made up my mind that I was going to kill myself that night. All I could think about was putting an end to the pain that seemed to never stop." He gave a bitter chuckle. "So I closed my eyes and envisioned you and put everything I had into saying goodbye to you. I wasn't foolish enough to think I’d see you on the other side. Yet, I was too much of a coward to remain here without you. I know that makes me sound weak and not the hero you see me as, but…" Tears welled in his eyes and he swallowed hard. "I realized that being your hero meant far more to me than being a hero for this city. I could live with the knowledge that I failed the city, but the knowledge that I couldn't save you, was too much to bear.”  


She sat silently listening to this beautiful man, and tears began to flow freely. His head bowed, ashamed, and unable to look at her, Felicity realized in that moment, the depth of her love for Oliver Queen. As she placed her hand upon his cheek and ran her fingers along his stubble, his eyes closed at the contact. She moved her hand under his chin and encouraged him to look at her.  


With eyes full of love, she said, “How could you ever think of yourself as weak in my eyes? You’re the strongest man I know, Oliver. When Slade took me, I didn't care what he did to me, all I could think about was how devastating this would be for you. You've had more heartache than any human being should ever have to bear, and yet you wake up every day and make it your mission to prevent that type of pain from spreading to others. I’m not some silly girl in love with some idolized notion of a hero. I’m a woman in love with a broken and broody man, with a capacity to love so intensely, it takes my breath away. You could never be weak. You called me remarkable when we first met, Oliver, but you’re the remarkable one. Slade was right when he said we were a formidable team. He simply underestimated your propensity to love.”  


From that moment on, Oliver and Felicity remained stronger than ever. They returned to lazy mornings, filled with words of love while eagerly preparing for the arrival of their daughter.  


Two months after Felicity’s kidnapping, Oliver tracked down Slade and made an example of him by killing him with his own sword. Helena, who insisted she was a mere pawn in Slade’s plan, was inducted into the Suicide Squad and later killed on a mission. Soon after, Oliver and Felicity welcomed Meghan Dearden Queen into the world. Her arrival was filled with the danger and adventure that had come to be expected by the arrival of a new member to the team. But, as Felicity will later retell the events of her birth, it was all worth it to see Meghan in her father’s arms, officially claiming the title of Oliver Queen’s first happy story. It’s only later that Oliver disavows her claim, according to his recollection, his first happy story began with, “Felicity Smoak? Hi, I’m Oliver Queen.”


End file.
